Probability
by a kiss of winter
Summary: They were going to be parents again. A simple, anticipating countdown - day by day, moment by moment. The chances of them having another miracle was unbelievable...


_**-xoxo-**_

_**Probability**_

_**-xoxo-**_

_probability - 1. the quality or fact of being probable. 2. a strong likelihood or chance of something. 3. a probable event, circumstance._

Six months ago, Emma Swan married the love of her life. Neal Cassidy was an amazing man, one who kept coming back to her, no matter what the case or situation in life. They had met in a strange way, and destiny kept doing odd things to keep them together. Apparently, swans were animals that mated for life, and upon meeting Neal, something inside Emma knew that he was The One.

Five months ago, Emma was sick. She didn't think anything of it, just a stupid stomach bug going around. It was, after all, the dead of winter. That stupid outdoor wedding Mary Margaret had insisted on might've been pretty, and sure, it was nice, but getting sick didn't seem worth it. Then again... maybe it wasn't a cold.

Four months ago, Emma relented and went to the doctor's. No normal sickness kept coming back every other week.

_"Well, Mrs. Cassidy, I have good news and bad news," Dr. Whale announced, looking down at his clipboard and back to Emma, who let out a groan at the declaration._

_"Give it to me straight, doc," she sighed. "Bad news first."_

_Propping his glasses up, he simply replied with, "I don't see your illness recovering anytime soon."_

_Emma blinked slowly, in slight shock, only before shaking it off, and giving a wave of her hand. "Might as well end on a good note, what's the other news?" she questioned, seemingly without a care._

_"The good news is, you're pregnant."_

Three months ago, Neal found out.

(Apparently, Henry, David and Mary Margaret were all horrible secret-keepers.)

_"And when were you planning on telling me this?" Neal said, with a breathless laugh in disbelief. "When you were blown up like a balloon?"_

_Emma shot him a glare, and let out an exasperated sigh, only before shaking her head. "No," she muttered, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "I just... I'm still shocked, I guess." She bit her lip and hesitated, only before managing to let out each and every word. "Plus, I guess I was scared of what you'd think."_

_"You..." Her husband chuckled, giving her a quick kiss and holding her perfect, beautiful face in his hands. "What did you think - I was gonna be mad?"_

_Emma smirked, and shook her head. "I'm not sure what you'd think," she admitted._

_Neal shook his head playfully, intertwining her fingers with his and looking deep into her sparkling hazel eyes. "I think it's amazing," he smiled. "We're gonna be parents again."_

Two months ago, they found out the gender of the baby.

They were going to have a little girl.

_"A little Princess," Neal murmured, causing his wife to let out a groan, which caused him to chuckle. "What? She is."_

_Emma rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "Please don't call her that," she muttered. "She's just our daughter, ok?"_

_Neal smirked, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "She's not 'just our daughter', Ems," he defended. "I mean, technically, she is royalty throughout generations or whatever, but-"_

_"If you start calling her Your Highness, I'll handcuff you." Emma threatened._

_A moment of silence passed, only before Neal gave a sly smile and raised his eyebrow. "To the bed?"_

_Her expression falling into a typical 'are you kidding me' look, she just shook her head and lightly punched her husband on the shoulder. "You're lucky I love you," she said simply._

One month ago, they started to worry.

Even if they already had a child together, what did they really know about parenting? Their son was now a teenager, and they didn't know a single thing about caring for kids.

_"I mean, what if we're not ready?" Emma questioned, blinking back tears. "Neal, dammit!" She swatted him on the shoulder and scowled. "I can't believe you, if you were so... so..." She growled as she noticed his smirk and pouted like a child. "This is all your fault. We don't know what we're doing, we're probably gonna screw up, or leave her somewhere, or curse in front of her or-"_

_"Hey, hey, hey, Emma, babe, look at me..." Neal murmured, gently tracing his wife's cheek. "It's gonna be fine."_

_"I know," Emma muttered, with a sniffle. "It's just this damn baby. Making me emotional over every stupid thing, I just..." She winced as the baby inside of her kicked and it caused her to release a deep breath. "You're right. I'm acting selfish." She choked back a sob. "We never got to do this with Henry, and-"_

_Neal's expression fell as he realized it as well, only before he placed a soft kiss on Emma's lips, taking her by surprise._

_"What was that for?" she asked sharply, her mood suddenly changing (as expected for the pregnant woman that she was)._

_"Let's make a promise," he decided. "To treat this kid as if it was Henry. It's our second chance, Em. We won't screw this one up."_

_A moment of silence passed, only before Emma's expression slowly formed into a smile and she nodded. "Yeah," she sniffled, now crying tears of joy. "A second chance."_

Three weeks ago, Emma noticed her little girl's kicks were getting sharper and more often. She just thought it was being stubborn to get out. After all, back when she was carrying Henry, he was even more violent, if that was possible.

Two weeks ago, in the middle of the night, Emma went into early labor. Her water broke and she didn't know why. It shouldn't have been happening for another four months...

A week and a half ago, Emma was released from the hospital... but she needed tending to anyhow. She wasn't sick or in pain anymore, but her heart was shattered into pieces.

One week ago, the papers came in. Their little girl was gone before they even got to know her.

...their second chance was no more.

_Ruth Dove Cassidy_

_Born, February 17th, 2014 - 11:59 pm_

_Died, February 18th, 2014 - 12:01 am_

"It's ok, Emma," Neal had told her. "Maybe we'll get another chance."

Emma had tried to believe that. After all, the two of them had gone through so much together. Adventures, and crime, love and loss - this was just one bump in the road. They would make it, like they did with everything else...

...but the fact that their little girl was gone still hurt.

* * *

_**author's note:**__ My first official (and not horrible) Once Upon a Time fanfic... and I make everyone cry. #sorry not sorry. One of my favorite songs, "Small Bump" by Ed Sheeran, was on, and well... as expected, inspiration struck and I began a writing maniac._

_Please review to let me know what you think! :)_


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